Offaly house prices down 6% in year

House prices in Offaly in the second quarter of 2013 were six per cent lower than the same period in 2012, the latest Daft house report reveals.

The drop is much more modest than the 16 per cent decease recorded between mid-2011 and mid-2012 however.

Currently the average house price in Offaly is €129,000 according to the report, which is 56 per cent below peak house price levels.

In the country as a whole the proportion of properties finding a buyer within four months has increased from just 34 per cent in mid-2012 to 45 per cent now.

In Dublin two thirds of properties are sold within four months currently, while in Connacht and Ulster that figure drops to a third.

The total stock of properties sitting on the market nationwide currently is estimated at just over 41,000, which is the lowest level since mid-2007.

The report shows that asking prices in south Dublin rose by over twelve percent in the year to mid-2013, which is the strongest year-on-year growth in asking prices recorded in any part of the country since early 2007.

Looking at the country as a whole prices fell by four per cent in the past year, compared to 15 per cent during the previous twelve months. Typical asking prices countrywide are now 54.6 per cent below peak 2007 prices.

Commenting on the report Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons said the growth in asking prices in south Dublin is down to a lack of supply in the capital.

“But will conditions still weak in many parts of the country, it is likely that over the next twelve to 24 months, we may have to get used to the idea of prices rising in some places - particularly in urban areas - while they fall elsewhere,” he said.